\

BERNADETTE DEVLIN, fiery leader of the North Ireland working people
and Labor M.P. is on a speaking tour of the U.S. and appeared on
Canada wide TV Sunday night. Recently released from prison,
Bernadette told a student audience in the U.S. that “the ultimate
victory in Ireland will be with the working class, Catholic and
Protestant.’ She called for support of the fight to free Angela Davis.

LABOR SCENE:

Labor plans conference
on unemployment issué

The Vancouver Labor Council
will call a conference of all
unemployed at a later date, it
was agreed after a lengthy
discussion on organizational and
political problems connected
with organizing the unemploy
ed.
The regular meeting of the
labor body saw some sharp
clashes of opinion as to the role
of paid officers of trade unions,
and the program around which
all employed could be united.

The key of the debate was put
forward by Jack Phillips, of
CUPE. ‘‘What are we demon-
strating for? Where are we
going?’’ he asked.

He maintained the program
for labor action as put forward
by the B.C. Federation of Labor
must be the projection, the basis
of unity and action. He stressed
that every union member,
unemployed or not, and the trade
union leadership has the respon-

sibility to fight for full employ

ment.

Peace Arch rally protests
danger of oil pollution

Protests on an international
scale are mounting against the
shipping of oil from Alaska down
the west coast to Washington
State refineries. At the same
time, the building of a pipeline
through Alaska to Valdez on the
coast is being sharply questioned
and condemned by conser-
vationists and ecologists in both
the north state and in the U:S.
proper.

American and. Canadian
citizens will get together to
protest the plans of the oil
companies this coming Sunday,
February 21, at the Peace Arch.
The rally will commence at 2
p.m.

Participating groups will

include the B.C. Federation of
Distortion hit
by Pritchett

The Pacific Tribune asked
the founding International
President of the IWA, Harold
Pritchett, to comment on the
special edition of the B.C.
Lumber Worker which
carries an alleged ‘‘history”’
of the organization.

This is Pritchett’s com-
ment: ‘‘The idea of a Wood-
workers centennial in depict-
ing the glorious history of the
struggles of woodworkers

good one. Such a project, how-
ever, should be based on
historical facts, not on
fiction.

“Tt seems to me the key to
resolving future struggles
that lie ahead is unity while
the bosses take steps to forge
unity within their own ranks.
Those responsible for the
IWA centennial issue fail to
do that.

“If the IWA is to serve the
best interests of the member-
ship, inspirational leader-
ship is most essential now.”’

down through the years is a }

Labor, the UFAWU, SPEC, the
Sierra Club, the Amchitka Com-
mittee and groups from Washing-
ton state. The rally is sponsored
by the B.C. New Democratic
Party’s environmental council.
The only moves by the federal
government are to offer Cana-
dian land for a “land bridge” —
Energy Minister Greene’s contri-
bution — and External Affairs
Minister Sharp’s background
rooting for those who protest the
oil shipments.
Last Monday a group of B.C.

women presented a brief to the
manager of the Atlantic
Richfield refinery at Cherry
Point, near Bellingham.

The manager’s answer was
that the company would pay for
damage done to the land and sea
along Canada’s coast in the case
of oil spills. He appeared to
ignore the fact that no amount of
money can compensate for the
damage perpetrated on wild life,
and the life of the sea, and to the
land by a scum of black oil from
tanker or refinery.

Fish industry workers

wage talks coming up

Fishing industry shore-
workers and tendermen will
demand wage increases of one
dollar an hour and 25 percent
respectively in wage talks set
for this month. Current
contracts expire on April 15 this
year.

A spokesman for the UFAWU
stated negotiations in 1971 must
provide the answer to cannery
closures and the reduction in the
packer fleet. Only four major
canneries will operate in 1971
compared with eleven operated
by the member companies of
the Fisheries Association of
B.C. as recently as 1968.

As a result 1600 jobs have been
wiped out while others have been
lost to mechanization, new
unloading techniques, etc.

The wage demands would
mean that for shoreworkers the
increases would apply to exist-
ing wage rates ranging from
$2.79 to $4.09 for men and $2.41 to
$2.70 for women. Improved vaca-
tion and overtime conditions,
working conditions and an
improved welfare plan are
among the major demands.

Tendermen’s rates in the
present contract range from a

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19. 1971—PAGE 12

low of $499 for a cock/deckhand
on a class A vessel, to $670.75 for
a captain on a class C vessel. All
rates are based on a fifteen day

Bruce Elphinstone, chairman
of the Unemployed Committee,
reported that representatives of
TACUY (unemployed youth) and
the Unemployed Citizens
Welfare Improvement Council
had withdrawn from a meeting
because they disagreed with
union members over basic
issues. He said a common
strategy and a common program
had to be worked out.

He agreed, however, that the
B.C. Federation of Labor
program for full employment
was one which should gain the
support of all sections of the
jobless.

Charlie Shane of the
Construction Laborers Union
lashed out at trade union
leadership which failed to give
direction to the unemployed. He
said it is not good enough to hire
a hall and tell the unemployed to
go.do their own thing. Full
employment is a goal not only
for the jobless, but for every

man who, if working, may be-

unemployed tomorrow.

Nick Podovinokoff, of the
Carpenters Unemployed Com-
mittee stressed the fact that
everyone who is unemployed is
welcome to participate in the
unemployed committees, and it
was possible to organize them
around the basic B.C. Fed
program.

Syd Thompson, chairman of
the VLC, was skeptical of the
value of an unemployed con-
ference. He said it wouldn’t take
a whole day to ‘‘endorse’’ the
B.C. Fed program. Later he said
labor had to put the “‘heat’”’ on
the governments for full employ
ment.

Colin Snell, B.C. Fed co-
ordinator for the unemployment
committees, said whether the
Trade Union movement likes it
or not, they must lead the

unemployed.
* *

In other action, the VLC
strongly protested the cut-backs
in bus service and reiterated
their stand that all public transit
should be subsidized.

“Once Mr. Shrum labelled us
an essential industry and we
went back to work literally with
a gun at our heads,’’ said Bob
Gregory of the ATU. ‘‘Now

month.

CUBAN WOODCUTS AT UBC — Above is one of the many woodcuts
from Cuba which were on display at the Student Union Building at the
University of B.C. between Feb. 1-5. This one shows U.S. imperialism in
Central America. Sponsored by the Ca nada-Cuba Friendship
Committee, the display also included many photos of Cuba today. The
entire display centred on the theme of the Declaration of Havana, -

‘brought about the present | i

Shrum is making drastic cult
that ‘‘essential service’.
The VLC also protested
sentence imposed on © f
leader Michel Chartraml
Quebec for alleged contemp!
court. i
Delegates condemned
escalation of war to Laos,
demanded the withdrawal ®
foreign troops. The \
endorsed a public meeting @
by a committee of trade
ists Thursday to mobil
organized labor to registel
objection to the war in
china. ‘a
An increase in telephone ™
was opposed. Paddy Neale, j
secretary, said the B.C. F i:
been asked to compile a}
companies which were pall
the huge communicall
network of which B.C. Tel?
part. :
A letter from Sheila You
the Peace Action Leagué;
35,000 names had been colle
in B.C. on the Outnow pee
campaign, and they woul
presented along with ?
thousands collected,
President Nixon at a later 4@
Josephine Halleck, Hotel
Restaurant union deleb)
reported on the SPEC dele
tion which visited Atlal
Richfield Refinery at lt
Point, Wash., last Monday. ,
Detailing some of the yy
contained in the brief pres,
by the women who took pat”
said that over 2,000 mile,
coastline could be affect
an oil spill from tankel
refinery.

* kK

Delegates to the meetifl

labor council passed a res

tion strongly condemnilé

tanker project of the Dlé
companies.

UNEMPLOYMEN

Cont'd from pg. 1!

displayed such absolute Fr

gance and such complete 1 ay
ence to a national disastel
Prime Minister and %,
Cabinet members are ™@ if
sarcastic remarks in Pay
ment about the unempl,
They are juggling figures:
laughing at the genuine C? tli
expressed by Members of
ment. iff

“It is generally reco8”,
and, in fact, was admitl@)
advance by Mr. Trudeay ig
Federal government por
were designed to pr qj
unemployment,”’ said B. “in
secretary Ray Hayne’ jy
statement. ‘‘I doubt }
realized fully the Frankel,
they were creating. ‘ail
created the monster, they
at it rather than accept Fé
sibility.”

“In view of the fact that
government is unwill™?,
unable to admit it err.

{

To
a

50

. . 1
trous situation, the only Cal

is to give the people of
an opportunity to pass JU
on the situation and the 8° of
ment’s handing of it. The att
ment should resign imme

a general election,”
151,000 member labor